Double Take
by LadyoftheBirds
Summary: (Two-Shot) It's that time of year again when Collège Françoise Dupont is holding their annual theatre production: Sleeping Beauty! When two of Paris' brats decide to compete to play as the leading lady, Marinette decides to stay away; even if it means staying far from Adrien! But when the role is forced upon her, she finds herself going through the same problems she tried to avoid!
1. Under Understudy Attack

Double Take: Under Understudy Attack

 **A/N: Gonna be dealing with a bunch of one/two-shots a lot more often now! I found this prompt online, and thought it'd be really fun to test out a PJO-esque POV.**

 **Bug Out!**

The first kiss I had (not counting the one I shared with Chat Noir during Dark Cupid) with someone on the lips was not as romantic as I had originally pictured it. No, it didn't have us dancing in the moonlight or watching shooting stars at the back of an SUV. It was due to the fact my own jealous self couldn't stand the sight of another girl stealing my man, and because Alya was so talented when it comes to peer-suading me into doing recklessly romantic things.

Collège Françoise Dupont was hosting its annual theatre production, and surprise surprise, they were doing Sleeping Beauty. Romantics like Rose were ecstatic due to the play's romantic nature, but people like Chloe and Lila were excited for different reasons. If you haven't read the tale- actually scratch that, don't read the tale because it's less G-rated than the Disney film. Don't say I didn't warn you. Anyways, if you haven't watched the Disney movie, Prince Philippe (that's the obligatory knight in shining armor if you haven't guessed already) broke Maleficent's curse with a kiss to wake Aurora up. But instead of altering the script to prevent hysteria and fighting over who gets to play the main couple, our ever-realistic theatre teacher, Mr. Kyle, decided to keep things the same- minus the non-G-rated bit.

I take that back. Mr. Kyle was smart enough that during auditions, he didn't let us choose which roles we'd audition for. Sure, we could write down a suggestion, but everything was ultimately up to him. As Alya and I fill out our paperwork, I can hear Chloe and Lila berating Adrien to sign up (and try to get the prince, of course), before arguing amongst themselves as to who would be a better princess.

"My daddy can buy me a princess dress! Yours can't even afford a prom gown!"

"My parents have _met_ princesses and got them to sign peace treaties, thus saving the world. Obviously I was the main factor in persuading them to choose peace, which is why they built a statue of me in the palace. Unfortunately, there are no cameras allowed!" Lila scoffed.

"Ugh, this Sleeping Beauty thing is a bad idea. It's just gonna end up with Chloe and Lila yanking at each other's hair."

Alya nudged me. "You should totally audition as Sleeping Beauty."

"Did you not just hear me?" I sighed. "I'm not going to audition for the same role the two brats of Paris are fighting for. I am going to sign up as Townsfolk #3, get one line, and be done with this for the year."

"Come on, it'll be fun! After all, Adrien will definitely get the role as the prince, so you two might end up kissing…"

While my heart swells at the sheer thought of Adrien's lips touching mine, I flash back to the time I was about to kiss him before Mylene got akumatized. The entire reason I didn't want to play the lead was because kissing him just because the plot calls for so would feel fake. After all, it's not like we live in some pandering romantic drama!

"Not like this." I say firmly, before scribbling 'Townsfolk #3' on the sign-up sheet.

After what felt like a millennia of waiting in line, I finally hand Mr. Kyle my sign-up sheet as he gestures me to grab a paper which had a paragraph typed onto it and walk onto the stage.

"Townsfolk #3, eh?" he raised an eyebrow as a sweat drop rolls down my face. "Go ahead, read the paragraph."

I inhaled. "Friend, can you show me the road that will lead me to heaven? And if I don't get through those pearly white gates, can you show me how to go on living? Can you show me the secrets to this life, help me avoid the mistreatment to my nervous system? Can you show me the tools to make the incision? If I was blind to the truth maybe then I'd be forgiven. If I didn't have a tongue maybe then I'd stop sinning. There is no rhyme or reason to this voice I've been given…it's just a given."

Mr. Kyle paused, for a brief moment, before he smiled. "My dear, you have so much more potential than a mere background character! Sleeping Beauty longs for something more, which leads her to being provoked into pricking her finger onto the spindle and falling asleep! _That_ right there, is your inner Sleeping Beauty shining through."

After thanking the brown-haired director, I quickly exit the room, running into Alya.

"How'd it go, girl?"

"He wants me to play Sleeping Beauty!" I whisper shouted, making sure neither Chloe or Lila could hear me.

"That's great! With Adrien as a shoe-in for the prince, you'll be able to kiss him on the lips once the night's over!"

I laughed nervously. "I still don't think my being Sleeping Beauty will end well for either of us."

And despite my desperate pleas for Mr. Kyle to forget about me and choose someone else to play the title lead, I almost cried when I saw the cast list posted outside the theatre room.

 _Sleeping Beauty - Marinette Dupain-Cheng_

"WHAT?!" Chloe shrieked, pushing past everyone to get a much better look at the list. "Dupain-Cheng got Sleeping Beauty?!"

"What's wrong, Chloe?" Alya teased. "Mad

you got cast as a fairy?"

"No! I wasn't even given the satisfaction of that! I'm her… understudy!" Chloe growled.

"You think that's bad?! At least you were cast as the good guy! I'm playing the evil witch!" Lila yelled. "And I'm still the understudy!"

"Aw yeah!" Alya punched her fist to the sky. "I got the witch, baby!"

Despite everyone's constant yelling, I found myself more focused on the line below mine.

 _The Prince - Adrien Agreste_

"Looks like you and I got the lead." Adrien smiled, appearing next to me.

"GAAH, oh hey Adrien! Y-yeah, guess we'll be spending lots of time at practice!" I stuttered.

"Don't worry, if you're nervous. You'll do fine." he reassured before walking away.

"Fine… yeah…" I trailed off before Chloe snapped me back into reality.

"I _forbid_ you to play Sleeping Beauty, Dupain-Cheng! My daddy's the mayor, and once he finds out his daughter didn't get the lead role, he'll shut down this entire production! And you don't want that on your shoulders, do you?"

"No one's shutting down no one's production." Mr. Kyle interrupted tiredly, emerging from the room. "If you're an understudy or not in the cast at all and still want to help, you can help with the tech behind the scenes."

"Behind the scenes?!" Chloe and Lila shouted simultaneously.

"And would you two for the love of Rao stop shouting?!" he groaned.

"I'm way more fit to play Sleeping Beauty than Marinette!" Lila argued. "I've been doing the Performing Arts since I was three!"

"You'd think someone who'd been performing all her life would've given a more in-character performance than last week." Mr. Kyle remarked. "Marinette was as good a Sleeping Beauty as I've ever seen."

"But she didn't even want that role!"

"I believe I explicitly said I only took your choices into consideration; they would play hardly any role in the final decision. Besides, Mlle. Rossi, you have all the makings of being the manipulative villain we need."

Before Mr. Kyle could close the door, Chloe wedged her flat between the door and frame. "Wait! Sleeping Beauty and the Prince have to have good chemistry in order for it to work!" Chloe reasoned. "How about we do a quick screen test to see who's a better actress. _Moi_ , or Dupain-Cheng."

Mr. Kyle nodded. "Fine, meet me here this afternoon. All of you. Might as well teach you understudy's the basics to Theatre Tech if Mlle. Bourgeois insists on making the show a competition."

Before I could interject, Chloe whispered into my ear. "Good luck, Marinette. You're gonna need it."

And if I'm being honest, I would've just given up and handed my role to Chloe on a silver platter. But if she insists on being such an insufferable brat, I best beat her at her own game.

"So are you, Chloe." I smiled. "So are you."

 **A/N: Just so you all know, I based off Mr. Kyle over my Theatre Tech teacher who goes by the same name!**

 **Final chapter... coming to you soon!**


	2. Sorry Not Sorry

Double Take: Sorry Not Sorry

 **A/N: Two chapters in two days?! I know right! I'm actually consistent for once!**

At first, I had absolutely no intention of auditioning for Sleeping Beauty. And once I got the role, Chloe stuck that in my face even more. Sure, revenge is a sin, but it would be great to get Chloe back for making the entire production's life miserable. So when a hesitant Alya asked me (for the third time that day) if I really wanted to go through with this, I nodded.

"I made a mistake when it comes with Lila's lies and keeping quiet about it. This time, I'm going to make sure Chloe doesn't get away with being a sanctimonious b-"

"-Social Justice Warrior Marinette." Alya smirked. "Never would've expected to say those four words in the same sentence."

I only replied. "Come on, you'd do the same thing."

"True. I mean, I'd be surprised if Lila tries to come up with some sort of lie to try and steal my spot."

"Glad you've started to see Lila for the liar she is." I winked, as we walked to Mr. Kyle's room.

As both the main and secondary cast file into the theatre room, my eyes briefly meet Adrien's as I end up sitting in front of him. Of course, being the manipulative girl she is, Chloe ended up sitting next to him, awfully close I may add.

"I'm glad you all could make it to round two of our auditions!" Mr. Kyle announced, a hint of annoyance and inconvenience in his tone. "If you are an understudy, besides Mlle. Bourgeois of course, please follow M. Daniel to backstage where he'll show you the ropes."

Daniel nodded as he herded the understudies behind the curtain, excited chatter ringing throughout the room.

"M. Aidan is passing out your scripts, which I'd like for you to read as you wait for the stage to become unoccupied. M. Agreste, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng and Mlle. Bourgeois, if you could be so kind and follow me onstage."

Once the three of us were up on the stage for everyone to see, Mr. Kyle handed us our own script packets.

"Flip to Page 11. From the beginning of the village scene until the end of the exchange between the prince and princess. Got it? Good. Now, Mlle. Bourgeois, action!"

I quickly run to the side as Chloe nudges me out of the picture. Classy.

"Excuse me miss," Adrien reads. "Do you live 'round here?"

"Why of course I live here." Chloe remarked, inching ever so closely to Adrien. "Here in the village. I'm just a… p…" Chloe trailed off, as if she couldn't call herself a 'poor village girl'. "Oh, forget it!" she exclaimed, flipping the page. "Let's try this again."

Mr. Kyle blinked, clearly annoyed, before waving his hand for Chloe to continue for her hand-picked line.

"Oh, well, you know," Chloe was now centimeters apart from a nervous Adrien. "In a small kingdom like this, you get to know everybody. Well, now you know my name… suppose you'll tell me yours." I could feel my anger overflowing as her fingers began to walk down her chest."

Adrien immediately laughed nervously, taking a step back before bowing. "I am Prince Florimund Charming of Near Arcadia."

Chloe flipped her hair as she curtseyed. "I'm very pleased to meet you, your Highness, but tell me, what are you doing here?" she was once again inching closer to Adrien.

"That's a very good question… to a _very_ long story." Adrien replied.

"Cut!" As Mr. Kyle demanded for the scene to halt, I could've sworn Adrien's muscle significantly relax.

"Wasn't I right, Mr. Kyle?" Chloe smiled. "Adrikins and I do have great chemistry!"

"I think it's best to judge after I see Marinette's performance, Mlle. Bourgeois. Marinette, if you could read from the beginning of Page 12?"

I nodded as I walked up to Adrien, a reassuring smile on his face.

"Oh, it's nothing. It just seems sometimes that the only people I ever meet are dukes and earls." I sighed.

"Really?" Adrien looks around the barren set. "What, here in the village?"

If you took a look at the following scene with the eyes of someone who didn't previously know me, you would've said my delivery was spot on. In all honesty, it wouldn't have been as good if I didn't end up making eye contact with Adrien's luscious emerald pools- nevermind. Getting into a stupid tangent.

"Er… no. That's right, I'm just a, um, poor village girl, aren't I?" I blush, rambling like an actual nutjob. "I mean, they keep coming up to the palace- I mean _going_ up to the palace and I see them, er, passing by! From here, here in the village. Where I live. Yup, right here."

Adrien's smile turns to a laugh (if it was real or acting, I still have no clue). "You're funny."

I giggled. "Am I? And you're… nice. For a duke, I mean."

"Cut!"

After we stared at each other for the next following seconds, I slowly turn to face Mr. Kyle, that stupid, nervous smile still plastered on my face.

"See, Mr. Kyle?" Chloe scoffed. "Marinette is just a bumbling mess! She can't even read her lines without messing up!"

"I actually think this is the most in-character performance of Sleeping Beauty I've ever seen, Mlle. Bourgeois." Both Chloe's and my eyes widened. "In the scene, Aurora is desperately trying to not blow her cover as the princess. The reason why I chose Marinette in the first place was because she embodies that pre-womanhood innocence Aurora has! As for the chemistry, Adrien and Marinette have this _feeling_ when you watch them that makes you know that there's something there! Something real and authentic! Something… Mlle. Bourgeois, you don't seem to possess with Adrien."

Chloe turned bright red. "Ex- _cuse_ me?! I've known Adrikins ever since we were little!"

"And as I had told Mlle. Rossi this morning, I'd think that for a childhood friend, Adrien would've seemed a lot more at ease with you than the performance he'd delivered today."

"Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Chloe yelled, storming off.

"Congrats, Marinette, you still hold the title of Sleeping Beauty. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go check backstage to make sure a sandbag didn't fall on another person's head." And with that, Mr. Kyle the main room.

"So I guess we'll be performing together." Adrien briefly rested his hand on my shoulder. "See you around, Marinette."

"See ya… around…" I replied, all cognitive ability leaving my brain.

After one month of endless nights rereading the script and one month of the entire cast practicing onstage, Sleeping Beauty's premiere was finally upon us. Five minutes till the first scene starts and I'm already dressed in my gown.

"You'll do fine, girl." Alya reassured, decked out in her witch wardrobe. "The costumes you created were incredible!"

"Thanks, Marinette!" the fairies, Rose, Juleka and Mylene chirped.

I only nodded as Adrien waved to me. "Don't be nervous, Marinette. You've probably practiced more out of everyone. You know the script forward and backward!"

"Quick announcement!" Mr. Kyle declared, walking backstage. "Marinette, Adrien, I've made a quick alteration with the script. At the end of the final scene, I think it would be best and more authentic to the source material if Adrien places a kiss on Marinette."

"WHAT?!" I whisper-shouted.

"No time to argue now!" Mr. Kyle quickly turned around. "Play's starting. I'll leave it to you to work it out!"

And maybe it was for the best the audience's cheers drowned my words, because if Tikki heard the words I said, she would've definitely pinched me.

At the beginning of the second act, I was supposed to get my finger close enough to the spinning wheel that it looks like I was pinched, but truly wasn't. In reality, my ever-so-clumsy self ended up stabbing her finger against the wheel. Let's just say my reaction to it was a lot less acting than the audience thought. As I was finally able to scurry backstage and tend to my finger, Alya was whispering, "Jeez, Marinette, this wound's pretty deep. I can't believe you didn't cry out in pain out there!"

"I guess I developed a tolerance?" I shrugged.

As the play rounded the beginning of the final act, I felt Adrien grab my shoulder.

"Hey, Marinette. I saw how freaked out you were when Mr. Kyle changed the script. If you want, I could try and stay as far away from you, while still looking realistic?"

My face grew even hotter as I slowly backed away. "Do whatever you want, Adrien! I, uh, am gonna go lay in the bed now! Bye!"

As I was rolled onstage, my shut eyes could only see the previous exchange I had with Adrien. On one hand, I was scolding myself for not saying he could kiss me if he wanted, on the other, I was glad to not give him the idea I wanted to kiss him."

And then came the pivotal moment. I heard Adrian's footsteps as he entered the scene. I felt his breath near my face. And in a tone only we could hear, he whispered, "Sorry if I misinterpreted."

And then I felt his lips touch mine. Even if we held the kiss for a mere two seconds, I could feel sparks fly. It was nearly impossible to spew out my lines without blathering. It was even harder to keep an in-character face as Adrien knelt down and 'proposed' to me.

But the one time I let loose and grinned ear-to-ear, was when I saw Chloe scowling in the background as Adrien, I, and the rest of the cast bowed, hand-in-hand.

Even now, I could still feel the kiss between the two of us, even if it was just for show. And that gets me thinking, what if he truly meant it? But of course, that 'fake' proposal was nothing in comparison to the proposal I received from him years later. I can still hear the wedding bells to this day.

And even though it's pretty cliche to say it was a fairytale come true, I think it's pretty special to feel as if my actual wedding sparked numerous instances of Déjà vu of that very night.

I guess you could say Adrien and I did a double take.

Heh, Adrien would love me even more if I told him I made a pun- not that he didn't love me as much before.

That's all for now, diary. Till next time.

 _-_ _Marinette_

 **A/N: When I was writing this chapter, I swear I chose the perfect Sleeping Beauty script! It fit Marinette perfectly!**

 **Here's to more to come!**

 **Bug Out!**


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